Dust on sensor...

[Michael_Jacobs]

What do you regarding dust on the sensor of your camera?

 

Removing dust from photos my biggest pain in the processing of photos...

 

I'm using a Nikon D750 and have a huge amount of dust spots on my photos... (I did changed lenses to check...)...

 

The dust removal obviously isn't enough in my case...

 

1) use a kit

2) use compressed air

3) regularly bring for service

... ?

 

Thanks for your input

 

 

[MandyD]

9 minutes ago, Michael_Jacobs said:

What do you regarding dust on the sensor of your camera?

 

Removing dust from photos my biggest pain in the processing of photos...

 

I'm using a Nikon D750 and have a huge amount of dust spots on my photos... (I did changed lenses to check...)...

 

The dust removal obviously isn't enough in my case...

 

1) use a kit

2) use compressed air

3) regularly bring for service

... ?

 

Thanks for your input

 

 

mine would be going into the camera store for service.

[DDoug]

I use a Lenspen sensor cleaning kit when it's really required but the real answer is I don't change lenses in the field.

It's a bother to lug around extra bodies, but it's a solution.

[Michael_Jacobs]

Thanks for you input...

[spacecadet]

Try Digipads, if you're brave.

[Michael_Jacobs]

Thx spacecadet...

 

Should I be brave for this specific brand or all similar solutions?

[Stan Pritchard]

I have a D750 and find that the in-camera sensor cleaner works perfectly. There is never any dust on the sensor.

I used to have a D3 and dust on the sensor was a nightmare, I used to clean it with a Lenspen.

[Michael_Jacobs]

Thx Stan!

 

Good point my D3 and D700 where indeed nightmares, I thought the D750 would be much better... will bring it for service...

[spacecadet]

16 minutes ago, Michael_Jacobs said:

Thx spacecadet...

 

Should I be brave for this specific brand or all similar solutions?

It's a wet clean, a pad with Eclipse fluid drawn across the sensor. I rarely have to do it with the Sonys but it's far, far cheaper than anything else. About £15 for enough materials to do dozens of cleans. I don't know about any other cameras.

[Michael_Jacobs]

Thank you Spacecadet for elaborating!

[Colin Woods]

yes, do it yourself. You will pay good money to have it done in the shop, just to need to redo it a couple of months later. I got a cleaning kit from amazon and it works a treat. Just make sure that the pad is just dampened with the fluid. Have a look on the internet, there are plenty of places that show you how to clean your sensor. I too have the D750. Don't use one of those sticky pads, I almost wrecked the sensor on my D300 with one of those.

Like these

https://www.amazon.co.uk/VSGO-Sensor-Cleaner-Cleaning-DDR-23/dp/B00NIA4ZT6/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1525554154&sr=1-3&keywords=full+frame+sensor+cleaning+kit

 

with cleaning fluid

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Photographic-Solutions-Eclipse-Cleaning-Fluid/dp/B004WBR8C6/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1525554335&sr=1-1&keywords=eclipse+fluid

 

[Roger Johansen]

1 hour ago, Colin Woods said:

Don't use one of those sticky pads, I almost wrecked the sensor on my D300 with one of those.

Like these

https://www.amazon.co.uk/VSGO-Sensor-Cleaner-Cleaning-DDR-23/dp/B00NIA4ZT6/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1525554154&sr=1-3&keywords=full+frame+sensor+cleaning+kit

 

 

You probably bought a fake gel-stick.
I bought mine from https://photographylife.com/product/sensor-gel-stick
It work great and have removed all my dusts and oil from sensor that wet swab didn't remove.
Used on my D610 and my old D7100 I had with no problem.

[NYCat]

Am I right that some Nikons don't have the clear plate? Or is it something else that is now missing on cameras like the D500.

 

Paulette

[Joseph Clemson]

2 hours ago, spacecadet said:

It's a wet clean, a pad with Eclipse fluid drawn across the sensor. I rarely have to do it with the Sonys but it's far, far cheaper than anything else. About £15 for enough materials to do dozens of cleans. I don't know about any other cameras.

 

I followed Spacecadet's advice on this a couple of years ago. It took me several attempts to get the sensor clean initially, every time I shifted one spot another one appeared. However I did eventually succeed. I have only had to repeat the exercise once since. It's a bit nerve-wracking to do-it-yourself, but it is perfectly possible. Follow the cleaning kit makers instructions carefully. However, it is at your own risk and you probably know your own level of competence with dealing with fiddly DIY and mechanical things, so make your own judgement. 

[Vincent Lowe]

58 minutes ago, NYCat said:

Am I right that some Nikons don't have the clear plate? Or is it something else that is now missing on cameras like the D500.

 

Paulette

 

If you mean the anti-aliasing filter then yes, but not only Nikon...

 

http://www.digitalcamera-hq.com/articles/what-is-an-anti-aliasing-filter

[Colblimp]

Never ever use compressed air on your sensor!  I wet clean my sensors myself, it's nothing to be afraid of and they're more robust than you'd think.  Just watch a tutorial on You Tube before you take the plunge.

[spacecadet]

I've always used Digipads. The only difference is the price really.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Camera-Sensor-Cleaning-Range/dp/B007GN9R2Q/ref=sr_1_3?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1525603694&sr=1-3&keywords=digipads

[AndrewP]

I use 3 different methods beyond the in built camera cleaning and it all depends on the type of dirt you need to clean off.

 

Before starting, take an out of focus photo of a plain sky at f22 and swipe the camera as you shoot to blur any distant birds or insects in the frame that you may think is a dust spot. I then mount the camera on a tripod at eye level.

 

If the dirt is not circular then it’s probably just dust that isn’t fully stuck to the sensor, maybe a loose fibre. It’s likely to be easy to remove with a Visible Dust static brush. The thing looks like an artist paint brush and you spin it to create a static charge then brush across the sensor.

If there are just two or three spots of dust then I’ll use Dust Aid which is a rubber block which you press onto the sensor then pull away.

If there’s a light sprinkling of dirt right across the sensor then a wet sensor swab will remove 95% of it in 2 or 3 attempts, it always takes more than one go because the first attempt just loosens the dirt for the second attempt to then remove it. The trick is to be generous with the cleaning fluid.

 

For a major clean then I’ll often do a wet clean followed by Dust Aid followed by Visible Dust, they all have a purpose.

In between each stage of the clean I’ll take another reference photo of the sky and then I can scroll between the previous frame to see how I’m doing. You will never remove every single spot so you need to decide what’s acceptable and also depending on where they are in the frame. If you’re only shooting stills then cleaning the lower half of the sensor is more important as that’ll be the sky. If you’re doing video then it all needs to be clean because dust in the lower half of the frame will show up if you’re panning.

 

I would never use a bulb blower because all you’re doing is blowing the inside contents of the rubber bulb into your camera.

[Allan Bell]

 

Simple and it doesn't cost anything. Spit on a clean hanky then put the hanky round your little finger and wipe around the sensor. Then move to a dry part of the hanky and wrap it round your little finger again and dry the sensor.

 

No! Don't!    I'm just joking.

 

Allan

 

 

[spacecadet]

2 hours ago, AndrewP said:

I use 3 different methods beyond the in built camera cleaning and it all depends on the type of dirt you need to clean off.

 

Before starting, take an out of focus photo of a plain sky at f22 and swipe the camera as you shoot to blur any distant birds or insects in the frame that you may think is a dust spot. I then mount the camera on a tripod at eye level.

 

If the dirt is not circular then it’s probably just dust that isn’t fully stuck to the sensor, maybe a loose fibre. It’s likely to be easy to remove with a Visible Dust static brush. The thing looks like an artist paint brush and you spin it to create a static charge then brush across the sensor.

If there are just two or three spots of dust then I’ll use Dust Aid which is a rubber block which you press onto the sensor then pull away.

If there’s a light sprinkling of dirt right across the sensor then a wet sensor swab will remove 95% of it in 2 or 3 attempts, it always takes more than one go because the first attempt just loosens the dirt for the second attempt to then remove it. The trick is to be generous with the cleaning fluid.

 

For a major clean then I’ll often do a wet clean followed by Dust Aid followed by Visible Dust, they all have a purpose.

In between each stage of the clean I’ll take another reference photo of the sky and then I can scroll between the previous frame to see how I’m doing. You will never remove every single spot so you need to decide what’s acceptable and also depending on where they are in the frame. If you’re only shooting stills then cleaning the lower half of the sensor is more important as that’ll be the sky. If you’re doing video then it all needs to be clean because dust in the lower half of the frame will show up if you’re panning.

 

I would never use a bulb blower because all you’re doing is blowing the inside contents of the rubber bulb into your camera.

Similar except I use an empty PS document as the "sky". It's a standardised background so you get used to recognising small spots. Then a blower brush, then a wet clean if there's much left.

Though since I've had SLTs I hardly ever have to do it.

[Dyn Llun]

Simple and it doesn't cost anything. Spit on a clean hanky then put the hanky round your little finger and wipe around the sensor. Then move to a dry part of the hanky and wrap it round your little finger again and dry the sensor.

 

No! Don't!    I'm just joking.

 

Allan

 

I use the corner of my shirt pulled out from my trousers. Always available at any time. No need to be back at base.

 

Pete Davis

http://www.pete-davis-photography.com

http://peteslandscape.blogspot.co.uk/

 

 

 

[Michael_Jacobs]

Thank you all for your replies!!! Very usefull.

 

On average how much time between dust removals?

 

[spacecadet]

For me, with an SLT, months, but that doesn't help you.

The glib answer is when it's needed, or somewhat before you get fed up with all that spotting.

[Allan Bell]

 

I have not cleaned a sensor in years.

 

Allan

 

 

[Bill Brooks]

I use a sensor loupe to look at the sensor. It makes obvious any dust, stains, minor scratches from previous cleaning etc. The dust just glows under the side lighting from the loupe. I couldn’t clean efficiently without it

I then use a blower bulb to gently blow dust off the sensor, then check with the loupe again. Sometimes I have to do it several times because the dust gets moved around and resettles on the sensor in a different place. Stains are removed with a liquid on a pad. However I have not had a stain for years.

My Canon 5D had all sorts of dust problems, but my 5D11 and 5Ds had sensor cleaning cycles on camera shutoff that are quite efficient.

Occasionally I will notice a dust spot on a few frames in post production, but it will disappear after the camera goes through its automatic sensor cleaning cycle at camera shutoff. I only clean about once a year now on the 5Ds.

You have to see the dust to remove it, so the sensor loupe is key.

https://visibledust.com/products/quasar-plus-sensor-loupe-7x-magnifier-improved-focusing-system/